Business risks top concern for corporates in 2022

Business risk continues to top the list of corporate concerns for a vast majority of business leaders in the US and UK who otherwise believe they will be more “resilient” in 2022, a new report by specialist insurer  Beazley has revealed.

Risks that come under this umbrella, including supply chain, business interruption (BI), boardroom (director failure), reputation and employer risk (looking after staff through and post-COVID-19), were named amongst top concerns by a third (34%) of business leaders.

Reputation risks still remain a small concern, with just 13% considering it to be their top worry, but Beazley's report highlighted that threat continues to rise with ESG reporting.

As we move into 2022, institutional burnout becomes a real threat, particularly in pandemic exposed sectors such as health, travel, education and hospitality, it noted. Insurers need to ask how they can support clients with the impact of ‘resilience fatigue’.

Bethany Greenwood (pictured), group head of cyber and executive risks at Beazley, said: “We are already seeing supply chain issues impacting property claims, with a possible overspill into technology product liability claims. We also see scope for COVID-19 issues driving Directors’ & Officers’ liability (D&O) claims.

“Employment liabilities will also rise as staff raise concerns about how they were supported under remote working or whether they are being treated fairly going forward. Finally, social inflation, already a scourge on casualty markets, could become super-charged by such concerns as pandemic pressures risk encouraging jury members to believe ever more extreme redress measures are warranted.

“Against this backdrop, clients will want improved granularity around how insurance will respond, and the industry will want to be clear it is not inadvertently including COVID-19 risk in policies.”

Greenwood further added: “As the liability landscape continues to shift and expectations of our industry rise, the value of closer and more responsive insurance partnerships that focus as much on risk management and mitigation as on traditional risk transfer, will become increasingly evident.”

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